This invention relates to a process for the preparation of mayonnaise-like foods using a specifically refined soybean protein instead of eggs as an emulsifier and particularly, to mayonnaise-like foods with good squeezing property.
The term of squeezing property means the state in smoothness and form maintaining property of the extrudate from a plastic tubular container. A good squeezing property is in the state of smoothness and has a moderate softness and form maintaining property.
Recently, the trend of wanting foods free of cholesterol for health is rising, and in the field of mayonnaise there have been provided methods for the preparation of mayonnaise-like foods using soybean protein instead of eggs as an emulsifier.
It is, hitherto, known that the emulsifying ability of conventional soybean proteins is increased to some extent by hydrolyzing partially soybean proteins with enzyme. Surprisingly, it has been found that when soybean protein having the solubility reduced by an alcohol denaturation is solubilized with enzymolysis, an emulsifying ability and emulsification stability are remarkably improved. Based on this finding there has been provided a process for the preparation of mayonnaise-like foods comprising solubilizing an alcohol-denatured soybean protein with protease till 15-35% in a solubility of protein by a 10% aqueous solution of trichloroacetic acid, separating water-soluble materials to obtain refined soybean proteins and emulsifying the refined soybean protein together with edible oils, vinegars, seasonings and others (our copending application Ser. No. 123,250).
However, the mayonnaise-like foods using partially hydrolyzed soybean proteins instead of eggs as an emulsifier have a tendency that the squeezing property upon extruding from a plastic tube is inferior. Thus, there are disadvantages that the extrudate is too soft to maintain the form or has a hard, gel-like form so the surface becomes rough and cleaves.